


Bittersweet, Lies, and Tear-filled Eyes

by jpnxjcs



Series: SB19 CHRISTMAS AUs [7]
Category: SB19 (Band)
Genre: Joken - Freeform, M/M, Paulo is a baby in this fite me, Pinunso, supportive kuya Josh uwu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:08:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28438902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jpnxjcs/pseuds/jpnxjcs
Summary: Justin, sick of all the teasing his friends were doing, made the decision to make a bet with them.What was the bet, you ask?Well, it wasn’t that hard. All he had to was make Paulo, the guy who he didn’t know had been crushing on him for years, fall for him.
Relationships: Josh Cullen Santos & Felip Jhon Suson | Ken, Justin De Dios & John Paulo Nase | Sejun
Series: SB19 CHRISTMAS AUs [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2070990
Kudos: 5





	Bittersweet, Lies, and Tear-filled Eyes

“I still can't believe you agreed to this.” Ken mumbled as they reached their lockers.

“It's just a bet, Ken. It's not like real feelings are involved.” The older sighed and shook his head, muttering a “bye” as he went to his next class.

“What's his problem?” He shrugged, fingers intertwining with Stell's.

Justin was, to say the least, the most popular guy in their campus. And to keep up with his role, he has to play his part well.

He needed to have a lot of friends, ‘fool around' with men and/or women who he found interesting, and still be a good student.

And those in his close circle were the only ones who really knew who he was. That behind that cold exterior, there was a heart that just needed to heal.

The only problem was, his friends were divided. There was the ‘good’ ones, which consisted of Ken, Zio, and Maverick. And then there's them, namely Justin, Stell and Keith.

It tore him apart but he had no choice.

Back to where he was earlier..

“Jah? Justin? Hey..” Stell cupped his cheek, pressing a soft kiss on his forehead. “I lost you there for a moment.”

“Sorry. I was just thinkin-what? Is there anyone behind me?” As if his mind was being read, someone stalked past them but he could never mistake that mop of blonde hair anywhere else.

“Was that Paulo?” he nodded, sighing. They reached their classes but it seemed like fate wanted to doom him then and there.

Beside where he was supposed to sit, a frozen Paulo sat, cheeks red and avoiding his gaze.

“Glad to see you could make it, Mr. De Dios. Please, hurry to your seat. You too, Mr. Ajero.” Stell kissed his cheek one last time before sitting next to Kristy.

He took a deep breath before letting his feet drag him to his doom.

Paulo still avoided his gaze, focusing on the board and writing his notes.

“Careful, Paulo. Your notebook might suck you into its pages.”

“H-huh?” Justin chuckled and gently pushed his glasses.

“Nothing. Keep writing, you might miss out.” Paulo blinked before nodding, turning his attention back to the board.

Minutes into scribbling on his notebook, he felt Josh Santos' scorching gaze on him.

He looked up and sure enough, the older's gaze seemed like he wanted Justin to melt into a puddle of water then and there.

Josh Cullen 😡

Josh: don't.

Josh: even.

Josh: think about it.

He rolled his eyes at the message but flinched, frowning when he felt a ball of paper being thrown at his head.

He opened the paper and let out a soft groan, brows furrowing.

‘I mean it, De Dios. I don't care if he agrees. Stay. Away. From him. I will kill you myself if I find out that he's hurting because of you.’

“I-I'm sorry about him,” Paulo muttered, swiftly snatching the paper away from him. “He's just overprotective.”

“I can see why. No offense.” Paulo softly chuckled, the sound awakening butterflies in Justin's stomach.

“None taken.” He thought back to when he agreed to the bet.

Seeing Paulo now, just hunched and so adorably focused made him want to take that back.

It's too late though, he told himself. He would have to go through this.

“Sorry Paulo..” he whispered.

“Hm?”

“Nothing.” He flashed his gummy smile and kept writing, bumping his knee on the older's, smiling when he saw the redness in his cheeks.

“Are you free this afternoon?” he asked as they scrambled to get out of their classroom.

“U-um.. yeah. Why?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to check out this gallery with me. I heard that you liked photography.” Paulo blinked a bit too many times before he managed to compose a small smile.

“S-sure. I'll message my parents to ask for permission.”

“Okay. Already can't wait.” Not thinking rationally, he cupped the smaller’s cheeks and kissed the top of his head, smiling as he walked away.

“Pau, what was that?” Paulo sighed upon hearing his brother's voice.

“Nothing. He was just being nice. Give him a break, kuya.”

“Being nice? The student who fools around with those who are more than willing to fling their briefs or panties at his delicate golden hands? That's the guy of which you speak?”

“Kuya..” Josh just shook his head and pulled him to their next class.

He couldn’t help but think of what Justin did earlier. His lips felt so warm, making him feel like he was gonna melt.

He shook his head, trying to pry his attention back to the book he was reading for their English class.

But no matter how hard he tried, his mind still shifted back to the tall boy with white hair.

.-.

“You're really gonna go through with it, huh?” Stell asked, hugging him from behind.

“Yeah. I'm probably gonna tell him earlier on than later. He's gonna hurt more if he finds out by himself.” He felt Stell nod his head against his shoulder.

“It's better if he hears it from you. Jah, do me a favour. When you.. fall for him, and when he falls for you, please.. take care of him?

“Paulo.. he's a great guy. He's really nice. And I think he'll bring out the best in you. So please.. please, take care of him?” he turned around and pressed a soft kiss on Stell's forehead, nodding.

“I will. Did you.. love him?”

“I did. But I never got the chance to tell him how I felt.”

“So why me? Don't you want to be with him?”

“Well, I love-loved you. But when I saw you talking with each other, I just.. I felt like that could've been us. Me and him, or you and me..”

“Stell..”

“You.. are so, so perfect for each other, Justin. So perfect, so much in a way we never could. God, if only you could see the way he's been staring at you. And the way you've been looking at him lately.

“So, I'm begging you, Justin. Please. Take care of each other, of him.” Justin let a few tears slip from his eyes before pulling Stell into a tight embrace.

“I love you too, you know. I was just so afraid of losing you that I couldn’t say anything.”

“We're idiots.” Stell softly chuckled before resorting to softly crying on Justin's shoulder, feeling the younger shake as he too, cried.

“I love you, Stell. So much.” Justin whispered, hugging him tighter.

“I love you too. So much more than I can tell you.” The best friends stayed in each other's arms before letting go for good.

“I love you.” He repeated, looking into the older's eyes.

“I love you too. Now, go. Go get him, Justin.” The younger pressed one last kiss on his forehead before walking out, the sound of the door locking as it closed heard from his bedroom.

“Stell?” he turned and fell into Ken's arms, sobbing and letting the younger’s hands comfort and rub his back.

Completely overwhelmed by his emotions, Stell broke from the hug and pulled Ken into a deep, searing kiss, pushing him into the bedroom.

.-.

“Hi, po. Does Paulo Nase live here?”

“He does. Come in, hijo. Do you want anything? Water? Juice?”

“Water po, thank you.” The woman nodded, ushering him to sit in the living room while waiting.

“We haven’t seen you before. Are you a close friend of Paulo?” Tita Grace had asked him once she returned with a glass.

“You could say that po.” Paulo's father arrived and he stood up, shaking the older man's hand firmly before sitting back down.

“Tita.. Tito.. I'm gonna have to be straight to the point. I.. was wondering if I could have the permission to court and pursue Paulo?” the couple looked at each other then back at him.

Justin spent the next ten minutes explaining and listening to them as they gave their rules and conditions for him.

“Thank you for trusting me po.” They just nodded and smiled as Paulo walked into the room.

“Hey..” Justin felt like all the air had been knocked out from his body.

Paulo was, to say the least, stunning. Enchanting. Gorgeous, even. This was the first time he had seen Paulo like this and it made him feel things he didn’t know he ever could.

“Why are you staring?” Paulo whispered, trying to hide his rosy cheeks.

“Nothing, you just.. you look beautiful.” Paulo blushed a darker red, softly smacking his chest. Justin chuckled, caressing his cheek.

Paulo's father, Ted, playfully cleared his throat to remind them that they were still there.

Josh was on the stairs, eyes seeming like they could shoot daggers at Justin. Paulo sent him a pleading look but he just shook his head and stomped his way upstairs.

“I'm sorry about Josh. He's just overprotective of Paulo.”

“And so I've heard.” Justin murmured, pulling Paulo to his side.

“Back by twelve, Justin.”

“Bonus points for eleven forty-five.” Grace called out as they walked out.

After helping Paulo with his seatbelt, he fixed his own and began driving.

As promised, they went to the gallery first, Justin admiring how stunned Paulo looked as they walked in.

While the older admired the photos and artworks, Justin admired him. Paulo was.. to his eyes, a masterpiece.

His pretty blonde hair made the younger wonder if it was as soft as he imagined it to be. His eyes, especially when he was smiling, reduced to adorable little slits that made him want to do that almost everyday.

And the way he always smiles from ear to ear, revealing his cute braces. His smile always managed to knock Justin out of the world and black out for a moment.

His body was adorably squishy, to say the least. Paulo was insecure and shy about it but it didn’t matter to him. Justin still found him beautiful no matter what.

Beautiful. Gorgeous. Enchanting. Mesmerizing. Alluring.

Justin never ran out of words to describe him, and Paulo couldn’t deny the giddiness he felt whenever Justin would whisper in his ear.

Justin flaunted him wherever and whenever he could during the next few months. It always made him blush but he felt that same giddiness he had been feeling since the beginning.

“This is Paulo, my boyfriend..” was how Justin would always introduce him. And the way Justin would stare at him, his gaze screaming a hundred thousand words he couldn’t say out loud, took his breath away.

Another thing he could never forget was their first time. They had already kissed months prior when Paulo finally said yes to being his boyfriend. But this was another, a different first for them.

Justin gently and slowly took him apart, taking his sweet time and assuring him that he would be loved well. And he was.

Though it was his first, he could've sworn that was unlike anything that he had felt before.

When Justin held him in his arms that night, he felt safe. Like nothing would ever happen to him.

And nothing did. But, only because who hurt him was his only love.

He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but what he heard shattered his heart. They got into an argument that night, yelling and tears streaming down their faces.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Paulo had yelled. He yelled that while repeatedly throwing soft punches on Justin’s firm chest.

“Was it all a lie? Telling me that you love me?” Paulo had whispered.

“Of course not, love. I do love you. I'm sorry, please, listen to me.” But Paulo shook his head, breaking away.

“I'm sorry too.”

Both Paulo and Justin felt like a part of their heart was wrenched away that night.

MARCH 25TH 2020

A year. It had been a year since they last talked about their.. situation.

They had different ways of dealing with it, but they still suffered nonetheless.

And Josh? He had just enough of all of it.

“Josh, love, we shouldn’t meddle in with this.” Ken had told him after he stepped out from the shower.

When Stell kissed Ken that night, he stopped himself, apologizing for what had happened. Josh thankfully understood but joked about it minutes later.

“I'm sick of seeing him, them hurt over each other, love. Something has to be done. I love you and I'll see you later. Good luck on your performance later.” Josh pressed a soft kiss on his lips before stepping out of the room, heading straight for Justin's hotel room.

He made the younger wait at the restaurant before dragging his brother out of bed and pulling him to where a now shocked Justin sat.

“You're both idiots.” Josh grumbled, handing Justin his iced tea.

“Um.. thanks?” Josh rolled his eyes, using his knee to nudge his brother from under the table.

“Josh, why are we here? Shouldn’t you be cheering Ken on? You know how he gets.”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. So I would appreciate it more if you two knuckleheads made up. Don't bother me until you've sorted things out.”

Justin took his time staring at Paulo, mesmerized once again by his once-lover's beauty. The older male's hair was now black but longer. It made him look like a girl.

He was so beautiful that it made Justin want to cry then and there.

“Do you have your key?” he asked after they paid for their drinks.

“Kuya took it from me.”

“My room it is. I'm not gonna do anything without your consent.” He added once he saw Paulo gaping at him with wide eyes.

As promised, he let Paulo sit on the sofa while he was in the bed room, laying down and staring up at his ceiling.

He still couldn’t believe that Josh managed to drag Paulo out, but he made a mental note to thank the older later.

Josh had been… patient with the two of them. He'd also been patient in getting to know Justin better and was somewhat pleased with what he learned.

Sure he was upset when he found out that Paulo found out before he could tell him, but he listened nonetheless?

He owed Josh so much. And he needed to plan how he was gonna repay him for everything.

Just as he was about to drift off, someone tiptoed into his room and laid down beside him, a small head nuzzling itself onto his chest.

“Don't say anything. Not yet.” The person whispered, wrapping an arm around his waist and nuzzling its body against the warmth radiating from his body.

“When did it start? And.. who gave the dare?” he murmured, closing his eyes.

“It was Keith who teased me and gave me the dare. I wasn’t thinking clearly when I agreed. I really was gonna tell you, Pau, I promise.”

“Did everyone else know? Except me? Answer it honestly, please.”

Justin hesitated but nodded, sighing when he heard the older choke back a sob.

“So I was completely clueless while everyone else knew?”

“You didn’t deserve this, Paulo. None of it.” Paulo just shook his head and nuzzled closer, silently sobbing on his chest and soaking his shirt.

“Can.. can I hold you, Paulo?” he didn’t answer, but grabbed Justin's arm, wrapping it around his own waist.

He pulled himself closer, breathing in the younger male's scent.

Justin played with his hair, twisting and curling them with his fingers.

“Do you have anything to drink?”

“You never drink.”

“I know. But do you?”

“Ken brought red wine.” 

“Okay.” They spent the next few minutes drinking in silence, Paulo snuggling closer to him.

“I hate you, you know. For not telling me earlier. For telling everyone but me. For breaking my heart.

“But.. I never stopped loving you. It was always you and-mmf!” Justin had crashed his lips onto the older's, kissing him deeply.

Paulo slowly kissed back, resting a hand on his waist as their lips moved in sync.

“I love you. I love you so damn much, Paulo. So much.” Justin whispered when he broke away.

“I love you too, Justin. So much.” They kissed again and made love all night, unable to grow tired of each other.

While watching him sleep, Justin couldn’t help but feel content. His love was finally back in his arms.

And this time, he was never letting go.


End file.
